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Avery & Blake #2
The Printer's Coffin
Blake and Avery return in the stunning sequel to M. J. Carter's lauded fiction debut, The Strangler Vine. London, 1841. Returned from their adventures in India, Jeremiah Blake and William Avery have both had their difficulties adapting to life in Victorian England. Moreover, time and distance have weakened the close bond between them, forged in the jungles of India. Then a shocking series of murders in the world of London's gutter press forces them back together. The police seem mysteriously unwilling to investigate, then connections emerge between the murdered men and the growing and unpredictable movement demanding the right to vote for all. In the back streets of Drury Lane, among criminals, whores, pornographers, and missionaries, Blake and Avery must race against time to find the culprit before he kills again. But what if the murderer is being protected by some of the highest powers in the land?
368 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2015
92 people are currently reading
1630 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Carter
5 books304 followersM J Carter, biographer, historian and thriller writer, was educated at St. Paul's Girls' School and Exeter College, Oxford. She worked as a publisher and journalist before beginning research on her biography of Anthony Blunt in 1994. She lives in London with her husband and two sons. Anthony Blunt: His lives (2001), her first book, won the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Orwell Prize, and was shortlisted for many other prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and the Whitbread Biography Award. In the US it was chosen by the New York Times Book Review as one of the seven best books of 2002. Her second book, The Three Emperors (US title, George, Nicholas and Wilhelm), was published in 2009 and was shortlisted for the LA Time Biography prize and the Hesse-Tiltman History prize. In 2014 her first thriller, The Strangler Vine, the first in a series set in the first years f Queen Victoria's reign, will be published. The second in the series, The Infidel Stain, is due for publication in January 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 294 reviews
April 20, 2015
This is the much anticipated sequel to, “The Strangler Vine,” which featured Jeremiah Blake and William Avery. This book takes place three years after the events in India, which saw Blake and Avery embroiled in a search for the poet Xavier Mountstuart. Indeed, the artist Benjamin Haydon, has a painting of, “The Death of Mountstuart,” on display in London – making a martyr of the poet. Our heroes are now back in England. Captain Avery is living in Devon with his wife and Blake is in London – where he summons Avery to visit him.
Although unwilling to admit it, Avery is glad of the distraction which visiting London affords him. However, he is concerned when he finds Blake is dubious surroundings and not looking in the best of health. Blake informs him that the two men have been contacted by Viscount Allington and have been recommended to him by Theophilus Collinson, the former head of the East India Company’s Secret Department. Two printers have been brutally murdered in London and Allington – a well known philanthropist - is concerned that nothing has been done by the newly formed police. He asks Blake and Avery to investigate and see whether they can solve the crimes.
This investigation sees the men going deep into the rookeries and alleyways of London. Although this novel does not have the exotic location of the first book, the author paints a very evocative portrait of Victorian London. There is Henry Mayhew, Charles Dickens striding through the streets, revolution in the air and the Chartists movement calling for reform, extreme poverty and slum dwellings. Of course, Mayhew was the founder of “Punch,” and, with the deaths of the printers, we are taken into the world of publishing and see how important the printed word was in social reform; as well as the less salubrious world of lewd pamphlets and the underworld.
I loved “The Strangler Vine,” and this is an interesting second book in what, I hope, will become a series. It has a very different feel to it, with a totally changed setting. The characters have also changed from the first book; although Captain Avery is still slightly naïve and well meaning, while Blake seems to adapt to whatever circumstances he finds himself in, like a chameleon. I really enjoyed this and hope to see Blake and Avery in many more mysteries, as they complement each other well. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.
Although unwilling to admit it, Avery is glad of the distraction which visiting London affords him. However, he is concerned when he finds Blake is dubious surroundings and not looking in the best of health. Blake informs him that the two men have been contacted by Viscount Allington and have been recommended to him by Theophilus Collinson, the former head of the East India Company’s Secret Department. Two printers have been brutally murdered in London and Allington – a well known philanthropist - is concerned that nothing has been done by the newly formed police. He asks Blake and Avery to investigate and see whether they can solve the crimes.
This investigation sees the men going deep into the rookeries and alleyways of London. Although this novel does not have the exotic location of the first book, the author paints a very evocative portrait of Victorian London. There is Henry Mayhew, Charles Dickens striding through the streets, revolution in the air and the Chartists movement calling for reform, extreme poverty and slum dwellings. Of course, Mayhew was the founder of “Punch,” and, with the deaths of the printers, we are taken into the world of publishing and see how important the printed word was in social reform; as well as the less salubrious world of lewd pamphlets and the underworld.
I loved “The Strangler Vine,” and this is an interesting second book in what, I hope, will become a series. It has a very different feel to it, with a totally changed setting. The characters have also changed from the first book; although Captain Avery is still slightly naïve and well meaning, while Blake seems to adapt to whatever circumstances he finds himself in, like a chameleon. I really enjoyed this and hope to see Blake and Avery in many more mysteries, as they complement each other well. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.
April 10, 2020
This is the second book in a series featuring Captain William Avery and inquiry agent Jeremiah Blake. It is not necessary to have read the first book of the series before reading this book. The events take place 3 years after the end of "The Strangler Vine," when the two protagonists become reacquainted at a pub catering to Indian sailors. The philanthropist Viscount Allington wants to hire Blake and Avery to investigate two, seemingly motiveless, grisly murders among the poor of London.
The book begins with a wonderful prologue that is too perfect to spoil with a description. I love the way this author writes. I was afraid that I would miss the colorful descriptions of exotic India that were in the first book, but she made London just as vibrant and colorful (although the colors here were often black, gray and brown, like the "ubiquitous, black grime"). There is a Dickensian cast of characters (including Dickens himself in a brief cameo appearance). The book involves not only murder but indecent publications, political and economic upheaval, blackmail, bribery, well meaning toffs and ineffectual police. It was excellent historical fiction and a real pleasure to read. I hope this series continues for a long time.
At the end of the book, there is a very interesting description of the real life events and people that inspired this story.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
The book begins with a wonderful prologue that is too perfect to spoil with a description. I love the way this author writes. I was afraid that I would miss the colorful descriptions of exotic India that were in the first book, but she made London just as vibrant and colorful (although the colors here were often black, gray and brown, like the "ubiquitous, black grime"). There is a Dickensian cast of characters (including Dickens himself in a brief cameo appearance). The book involves not only murder but indecent publications, political and economic upheaval, blackmail, bribery, well meaning toffs and ineffectual police. It was excellent historical fiction and a real pleasure to read. I hope this series continues for a long time.
At the end of the book, there is a very interesting description of the real life events and people that inspired this story.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
August 10, 2020
I have been listening many detective books written about last two centuries. Specially from British India or Britain origin.
I have done Marathon Listining to this book. I was completely thrilled by the book. It was unfortunate that the first part of the book was not available on storytel. But I was able to take storyline independently.
I have done Marathon Listining to this book. I was completely thrilled by the book. It was unfortunate that the first part of the book was not available on storytel. But I was able to take storyline independently.
January 3, 2018
Absolutely superb. At least as good as The Strangler Vine. Such a strong account of early Victorian social injustice as well as an incredibly vivid tour of its London streets. Our heroes Avery and Blake, as before, make perfect guides to this fascinating time and place. Beautifully written. A book of the year for me.
April 26, 2015
I did not read the first in this series but it really didnt matter. An excellent historical crime fiction novel. Full review to follow.
April 3, 2016
Read it for the history, not for the mystery. The plot of this book dragged quite a bit until I learned to let go of the plot and just enjoy the history the author had so clearly researched. I didn't read the first Avery and Blake book, so this was my first introduction, and it worked well -- there were no missing pieces I felt I needed. That being said, I really didn't like any of the characters, and while there are those who would argue that you don't have to like the characters to read the book, this particular book would have benefitted from better characters (Faulkner may be able to pull it off, but Carter doesn't here). The main character, Avery, often refers to Dickens, so it may be that the author is trying to mimic Dickens in some way, and that would explain the distance at which we are kept as readers, but again, you have to be really good to pull that off, and it didn't quite work for me here. Maybe it would work for more avid Dickens fans.
But the history. The history is well-researched, well-told, and enough to keep my interest. It concerned a chapter of English history I was not very familiar with, so that added to my interest. I love a book that can teach me something. And that's what made me stick with it to the end.
I got a free copy of this from First to Read.
But the history. The history is well-researched, well-told, and enough to keep my interest. It concerned a chapter of English history I was not very familiar with, so that added to my interest. I love a book that can teach me something. And that's what made me stick with it to the end.
I got a free copy of this from First to Read.
May 12, 2022
This takes place three years after Avery & Blake met and went adventuring in India. They're both back in England and, much to Avery's disappointment, they're back on a case. Disappointment because Avery would have wished that Blake had called for him but an an external forces was the one who effectuated the reunion.
Generally I liked this, particularly because Alex Wyndham delivers another fantastic audio, however I had some disappointment.
REASONS
A): There is a murder(s)/mystery but a giant bulk of the story reads more like literary fiction, dedicated to apprise the reader about early Victorian England and all it's complicated, Dickensian, serpentine history. All very interesting, truly, but unimportant to purported mystery.
B): Blake remains an omniscient & inscrutable cypher. We know nothing about him. His thoughts are only occasionally made explicit, the why's we can only intuit. How he feels about Avery we can only extrapolate.
Despite the passage of time and his experiences in India & Afghanistan Avery remains a bit of a naif, aimless & lost, and he moons over Blake like a mesmerized calf. I do appreciate that though a good man Avery is very much a man of his times and station.
Maybe I read too much romance but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping something develops between Avery & Blake in the next book. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that that's a strong incentive to go on, that and I already own Bk.3, which seems to be the last, but I'm prepared to disappointed.
Generally I liked this, particularly because Alex Wyndham delivers another fantastic audio, however I had some disappointment.
REASONS
A): There is a murder(s)/mystery but a giant bulk of the story reads more like literary fiction, dedicated to apprise the reader about early Victorian England and all it's complicated, Dickensian, serpentine history. All very interesting, truly, but unimportant to purported mystery.
B): Blake remains an omniscient & inscrutable cypher. We know nothing about him. His thoughts are only occasionally made explicit, the why's we can only intuit. How he feels about Avery we can only extrapolate.
Despite the passage of time and his experiences in India & Afghanistan Avery remains a bit of a naif, aimless & lost, and he moons over Blake like a mesmerized calf. I do appreciate that though a good man Avery is very much a man of his times and station.
Maybe I read too much romance but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping something develops between Avery & Blake in the next book. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that that's a strong incentive to go on, that and I already own Bk.3, which seems to be the last, but I'm prepared to disappointed.
April 19, 2017
Loved the first in the series, and this one does it justice and more.
These are complicated and intensive books. This one is included, of course, in who-dun-it genre -but I would not consider it kin to 90% of all the others in that vast group. These are extreme in detail and often dialect in class level language. And yet the historical fiction trend for place, character and descriptions aspects cover the "case" element of/ in the book. Completely. The dichotomy of the difference between the styles, physical looks, approaches, manners of Blake and Avery themselves is core here. IMHO, much more than the case they are working becomes. Others seem to disagree. Not I. The pair are so opposed that it creates a "frame". Like the "Odd Couple" did within that old tv show. If you remember that kind of thing. By the time I reached the last "Part"- I had more concern for Matty or other under characters than for the reveal. It's that dense with personality and human communication styles of the protagonists.
This current investigation, IMHO, moves as slowly as the example given by one of the detectives to the other once in the novel itself. It is that of collecting all the crumbs and maybe having a 1/2 loaf of bread at the end of a week. That can be inferred as a negative? Only if you want quick, easy read fare. This is NOT in any aspect, any fraction toward review, a candy quick read.
It also holds some huge anticipation factor for later in the series. Captain Avery especially. In this one his wife is expecting. And yet he is living a bachelor life apart from her country location!! Hmm!
It's good, and really entrenches you in early Victorian England London. The Queen is expecting baby #2. All its warts and all its levels of Victorian London. Through Blake you get entrance to the central gutter sewer worst. This is just not a period I prefer. M.J. Carter is an excellent period writer for its smells and physicality.
3.5 star rounded up. But I do have to add one caveat- the politico and Chartist mantras put me to sleep several times during the read.
These are complicated and intensive books. This one is included, of course, in who-dun-it genre -but I would not consider it kin to 90% of all the others in that vast group. These are extreme in detail and often dialect in class level language. And yet the historical fiction trend for place, character and descriptions aspects cover the "case" element of/ in the book. Completely. The dichotomy of the difference between the styles, physical looks, approaches, manners of Blake and Avery themselves is core here. IMHO, much more than the case they are working becomes. Others seem to disagree. Not I. The pair are so opposed that it creates a "frame". Like the "Odd Couple" did within that old tv show. If you remember that kind of thing. By the time I reached the last "Part"- I had more concern for Matty or other under characters than for the reveal. It's that dense with personality and human communication styles of the protagonists.
This current investigation, IMHO, moves as slowly as the example given by one of the detectives to the other once in the novel itself. It is that of collecting all the crumbs and maybe having a 1/2 loaf of bread at the end of a week. That can be inferred as a negative? Only if you want quick, easy read fare. This is NOT in any aspect, any fraction toward review, a candy quick read.
It also holds some huge anticipation factor for later in the series. Captain Avery especially. In this one his wife is expecting. And yet he is living a bachelor life apart from her country location!! Hmm!
It's good, and really entrenches you in early Victorian England London. The Queen is expecting baby #2. All its warts and all its levels of Victorian London. Through Blake you get entrance to the central gutter sewer worst. This is just not a period I prefer. M.J. Carter is an excellent period writer for its smells and physicality.
3.5 star rounded up. But I do have to add one caveat- the politico and Chartist mantras put me to sleep several times during the read.
July 1, 2025
So…decided to toss the dice on this one — but lost badly, as it was really as disappointing as I feared it might be; just a huge let-down after the excellent, India-set The Strangler Vine.
Inexplicably, Carter brings her two heroes back from the subcontinent and drops them into gray, drab mid-19th century London for a dull Sherlock-wannabe murder mystery. And so instead of thugs and tigers and jewels we get such Victorian exotica as trains (!) and printing presses (!!) and Chartists (?).
Quit at 40%; I just couldn't…
Inexplicably, Carter brings her two heroes back from the subcontinent and drops them into gray, drab mid-19th century London for a dull Sherlock-wannabe murder mystery. And so instead of thugs and tigers and jewels we get such Victorian exotica as trains (!) and printing presses (!!) and Chartists (?).
Quit at 40%; I just couldn't…
January 21, 2019
This is not your run of the mill of historical mystery since it deals with impact of Empire and the impact of industrialisation and the elite holding on the power by suppressing those below them. Book 1 was set in India, but now Avery and Blake are back in England are drawn into a murder investigation in the poorer parts of London. It got me really interested in the Chartism movement and the fight for equality of Britain's poor.
May 29, 2015
For the map of the locations in the book Booktrail of The Infidel Stain
Blake and Avery who we met in The Strangler Vine, are now on the trail of a murderer in 1840s London…amidst politics, printing and porn.
Story in a nutshell
Following on from the events in India of The Strangler Vine in which they searched for the poet Xavier Mountstuart, Blake and Avery are now back in England. Captain Avery lives in Devon and is visiting London when he finds Blake in less than pleasant surroundings and not looking too healthy.
Blake tells him that the former head of the East India Company’s Secret Department has passed on their details to Viscount Allington who is concerned at the recent murder of two printers in the city. He has little faith in the newly formed police and so requires more expert help to discover what happened to them and why.
Victorian London awaits them but they will have to delve into the very darkest corners of the city’s underbelly to even try and see the light
Victorian London. Not quite as exotic as the Indian setting of the first book but very much detailed and equally evocative.
Every cobble of the alleyways, the dark corners of the bars and other establishments as the duo navigate their way around can be experienced.
Blake and Avery have many an obstacle in this case – especially since they are now relatively famous ever since their jungle adventures were immortalised in a painting by B R Haydon. Blake still dresses like a poor man but it’s his experiences of the slums of the East End of London that will prove useful
Happily he is related to the poet William Blake, and so as he wanders London’s “chartered streets” a lot of literary London comes to light
This is the London of Charles Dickens and other literary figures such as Henry Mayhew, the founder of Punch magazine. We walk right into the heart of publishing at the time – an industry and a city which was going through a time of reform and revolution and at the centre of it all was the humble but mighty powerful printed word..
The printers who have died are seemingly those who produce the more salubrious reading matter for the masses.
And this is a London of two very different classes – the haves and the have nothing at alls – Lord Allington wants to support social reform but has very old fashioned ideas of things such as childbirth since the bible tells him one thing and his mind another. Victorian hypocrisy is on every street corner.
It’s this London of contrasts, restraint, reform and chaos that we walk and see through the eyes of Blake and Avery.
Bookish musings
Another fascinating adventure with the duo Blake and Avery. A bit Sherlock and Holmes which is no bad thing and this book is so vivid that it would make a wonderful period drama. I would love to meet this duo for real and I feel I’m getting to know them now in this second book and so really hope there are more to come.
It’s like walking around a literary playground where publishing is in its infancy and you could very easily bump into Charles Dickens. Well, I wanted to stay a while so I read this slowly and pictured each vivid and perfectly evoked scene.
A great crime solving duo with great banter between them and the fact they were the butt of jokes following their first Indian adventure made for a very personable team.
June 28, 2016
2.5 stars. I am so glad that's over with.
Having enjoyed, The Strangler Vine, I was really looking forward to reading this novel. My excitement over another Avery and Blake mystery was short-lived.
I feel like the author could do away with Avery and the book would have been much better. I think I would much rather read a mystery featuring Blake by himself than have to deal with Avery bumbling along for 300+ pages. There was no character development. Any chemistry that the two men may have developed in the first novel had completely disappeared. I did take into account the fact that this book is set three years and several events after the first novel. After a while I was sick of being hit of the head with the fact that Avery and Blake come from two different parts of society. I get it. They are different. That much was obvious from the first book. Avery is like a terrible miscast in a big Hollywood movie. Like Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson in the Spiderman movie.
The only think that drove me to the end of this book was the author's ability to create atmosphere. I was so intrigued by the Victorian London setting Carter created. The atmosphere combined with the political intrigue is what got me to the finish line. Had the mystery been less complex and politically charged, I do not think I could have finished.
Having enjoyed, The Strangler Vine, I was really looking forward to reading this novel. My excitement over another Avery and Blake mystery was short-lived.
I feel like the author could do away with Avery and the book would have been much better. I think I would much rather read a mystery featuring Blake by himself than have to deal with Avery bumbling along for 300+ pages. There was no character development. Any chemistry that the two men may have developed in the first novel had completely disappeared. I did take into account the fact that this book is set three years and several events after the first novel. After a while I was sick of being hit of the head with the fact that Avery and Blake come from two different parts of society. I get it. They are different. That much was obvious from the first book. Avery is like a terrible miscast in a big Hollywood movie. Like Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson in the Spiderman movie.
The only think that drove me to the end of this book was the author's ability to create atmosphere. I was so intrigued by the Victorian London setting Carter created. The atmosphere combined with the political intrigue is what got me to the finish line. Had the mystery been less complex and politically charged, I do not think I could have finished.
November 5, 2017
Carter's first foray into fiction was her 2014 THE STRANGLER VINE, a historical mystery set in late 1830s India, in which she introduced us to her version of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: Jeremiah Blake and Captain William Avery. Blake and younger man William meet for the first time in that story, when Blake, an ex-soldier now in disgrace but still admired for his uncanny abilities, and Avery, a young rather clueless soldier, are both recruited to find missing British poet Xavier Mountstuart, who had mysteriously disappeared in the jungles of India.That first book was a mystery, a "Heart-of-Darkness" adventure and socio-political commentary on the British occupation of India.
Now it's 1841 and Blake has been back in London for some time, living in a less respectable area of London and making his living as an investigator of sorts. He's an enigmatic character, a radical and independent thinker, multilingual, an opium-eater, and a bit of a master of disguises. He's, of course, Carter's version of Holmes.
Carter's Watson, Captain William Avery, has arrived back in England soon before this new story begins. He had been sent to Afghanistan after his stint in India and is back in England with pregnant wife (who only figures in the book as an inconvenience he has left in the countryside and not as a character) and with uneasy memories of his experiences there. Avery is, IMO, even less interesting than Conan Doyle's Watson. He's middle-class, conservative, comfortable economically and ignorant about almost everything, from politics to poverty and class struggle. So far, in my estimation, he hasn't added much to any mystery investigations but I am hopeful for his improvement and enlightenment in future installments of this series. He does have a breakthrough in this book about poverty and class struggle so I'm optimistic.
The mystery itself concerns the murders of some London "gutter-press" printers, involved in printing the more salacious news and even pornography. The London new Metropolitan Police show no interest in finding the killer(s) and so a certain Viscount Allington recruits Blake and Avery to solve the case. Allington is an interesting, conflicted character. Rich and privileged, full of religious fervor, he struggles in Parliament to improve the conditions of the poor and working classes.
And so the story begins. The mystery itself and the men's investigation of it is quite interesting and brings them into contact with characters from all walks of life in Victorian London who are very well drawn. Carter's evocative descriptions of the sights and sounds and peoples of the time is excellent and you can almost see and feel the grit and grime and squalor of the streets.
But for me the most compelling aspect of this book is the well-researched history, placing the reader right in a time of extreme poverty of the lower classes, their struggle to survive and improve their situation, the Chartist Movement which is striving to obtain more rights for the poor, including the right to vote and have representation in Parliament. The Chartist struggle is not as successful as members would like and some are calling for force and violence to obtain their goals, since demonstrating and petitioning is not having much effect. And the Great Reform Act of 1832 has turned out to be a bust, with few to no improvements in quality of life for the poor.
This well-researched socio-political aspect of the story is fascinating and the mystery itself is quite good, with gruesome murders and a killer to be found before he murders again. There's scandal, blackmail, past secrets of many characters to be brought to light by Blake (and Avery, although he's pretty useless, IMO, but, as I've said, I'm hopeful for his improvement in future books.). All in all, I'm looking forward to more adventures of Blake and Avery.
Now it's 1841 and Blake has been back in London for some time, living in a less respectable area of London and making his living as an investigator of sorts. He's an enigmatic character, a radical and independent thinker, multilingual, an opium-eater, and a bit of a master of disguises. He's, of course, Carter's version of Holmes.
Carter's Watson, Captain William Avery, has arrived back in England soon before this new story begins. He had been sent to Afghanistan after his stint in India and is back in England with pregnant wife (who only figures in the book as an inconvenience he has left in the countryside and not as a character) and with uneasy memories of his experiences there. Avery is, IMO, even less interesting than Conan Doyle's Watson. He's middle-class, conservative, comfortable economically and ignorant about almost everything, from politics to poverty and class struggle. So far, in my estimation, he hasn't added much to any mystery investigations but I am hopeful for his improvement and enlightenment in future installments of this series. He does have a breakthrough in this book about poverty and class struggle so I'm optimistic.
The mystery itself concerns the murders of some London "gutter-press" printers, involved in printing the more salacious news and even pornography. The London new Metropolitan Police show no interest in finding the killer(s) and so a certain Viscount Allington recruits Blake and Avery to solve the case. Allington is an interesting, conflicted character. Rich and privileged, full of religious fervor, he struggles in Parliament to improve the conditions of the poor and working classes.
And so the story begins. The mystery itself and the men's investigation of it is quite interesting and brings them into contact with characters from all walks of life in Victorian London who are very well drawn. Carter's evocative descriptions of the sights and sounds and peoples of the time is excellent and you can almost see and feel the grit and grime and squalor of the streets.
But for me the most compelling aspect of this book is the well-researched history, placing the reader right in a time of extreme poverty of the lower classes, their struggle to survive and improve their situation, the Chartist Movement which is striving to obtain more rights for the poor, including the right to vote and have representation in Parliament. The Chartist struggle is not as successful as members would like and some are calling for force and violence to obtain their goals, since demonstrating and petitioning is not having much effect. And the Great Reform Act of 1832 has turned out to be a bust, with few to no improvements in quality of life for the poor.
This well-researched socio-political aspect of the story is fascinating and the mystery itself is quite good, with gruesome murders and a killer to be found before he murders again. There's scandal, blackmail, past secrets of many characters to be brought to light by Blake (and Avery, although he's pretty useless, IMO, but, as I've said, I'm hopeful for his improvement in future books.). All in all, I'm looking forward to more adventures of Blake and Avery.
June 9, 2016
It's been three years since Jeremiah Blake and bibliophile William Avery teamed up in India for what was one of the most enjoyable books I've read recently (The Strangler Vine) -- getting in on the ground floor as it were of a new series.
The Infidel Stain takes us to London in the early 1840s, into the orbit of publishers and pornographers, dissidents and rebels. Oh, and of course, murder. It's one of those novels that just oozes with atmosphere of dank and dark London, after a terrifying time in the dangerous jangals of India. Our heroes have become something of celebrities given their encounter with famed author Xavier Mountstuart. We learn a little more about the mysterious Jeremiah Blake's background in this novel, which was interesting. We don't get much more of Avery, which I would have enjoyed, especially more about his life now. Maybe the only thing I'd have expected was that ardent bibliophile William Avery, on a rare visit to The City would indulge himself in a visit to a bookshop to browse for books, without a horribly mangled body.
Historically rich, and textured, a thriller that had me reading late in huge gulps.
Ok, an admission: I liked the first book better. The chemistry between the characters wasn't as strong as I remembered by the end of the first book. We get it, Blake is a jerk. With reports of Blake & Avery 3 well underway, I look forward to reading it to see what happens next.
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The Infidel Stain takes us to London in the early 1840s, into the orbit of publishers and pornographers, dissidents and rebels. Oh, and of course, murder. It's one of those novels that just oozes with atmosphere of dank and dark London, after a terrifying time in the dangerous jangals of India. Our heroes have become something of celebrities given their encounter with famed author Xavier Mountstuart. We learn a little more about the mysterious Jeremiah Blake's background in this novel, which was interesting. We don't get much more of Avery, which I would have enjoyed, especially more about his life now. Maybe the only thing I'd have expected was that ardent bibliophile William Avery, on a rare visit to The City would indulge himself in a visit to a bookshop to browse for books, without a horribly mangled body.
Historically rich, and textured, a thriller that had me reading late in huge gulps.
Ok, an admission: I liked the first book better. The chemistry between the characters wasn't as strong as I remembered by the end of the first book. We get it, Blake is a jerk. With reports of Blake & Avery 3 well underway, I look forward to reading it to see what happens next.
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March 18, 2019
As in the last one, you are instantly and completely transported into the setting, this time being 1840's London. It is the best part about these books, the attention to detail. But where the last one charmed me with Avery, this one made me a little wary of him. He is almost willfully bind to the suffering of the lower classes throughout most of the book and even when he starts to see the problems in the way these people are being treated, he still has a hard time sympathizing with them. Not to mention the end where he has some real inappropriate feelings towards a 16 year old girl. Gross. Plus the mystery is incredibly easy to solve, but again I was so enthralled with the setting I didn't really care.
March 28, 2016
The Infidel Stain opens in London about three years after the events in India that brought William Avery and Jeremiah Blake together in The Strangler Vine. Avery has distinguished himself in the Afghan Wars and sold his commission, returning to England and purchasing a small estate. It seems that even though his reason for returning is ostensibly his wife's pregnancy the marriage itself is unhappy. A summons to London from the enigmatic Blake is most welcome; Avery is restless and bored. He discovers Blake looking disheveled and unwell, working as a private agent for British Intelligence. Two grisly murders have occurred in the notorious slums of London; both men were printers, mutilated and laid out across their presses. The police seem to have no interest in the cases and Blake has been commissioned to investigate. His employer is Lord Allington, a well-known evangelical Christian who is interested in the plight of England's poor. The investigation plunges the two men into a dangerous world of political unrest, murder, blackmail, pornography, hypocrisy and madness.
I was largely unaware of the Chartist movement in England. The Chartists were a political movement which, to the modern mind, had very reasonable demands. They wanted one man, one vote, no property requirement to vote and redrawing of parliamentary districts. The poor in England were suffering tremendous burdens brought on by the Industrial Revolution and laws keeping wages artificially low. However, fifty years after the French Revolution, the reigning establishment saw the Chartists as a danger to the social order. The Chartists eventually failed even after delivering petitions signed by millions to the government. There were Chartists in favor of armed uprisings but more peaceful elements of the movement prevailed. Ironically, the movement seemed to fail in the end because they were so peaceful that the government felt that they could be ignored.
M.J. Carter paints a vivid, almost Dickensian picture of the horrible conditions in the slums of London. There was literally no escape for millions who had no way to improve their lives and a justice system focused on severe, moralistic punishments for the smallest transgressions. I can't help drawing parallels between the Victorian Age and our own "drug wars" as well as the slow dismantling of social programs meant to uplift people. William Avery is still a priggish young man but has his eyes opened wider in the slums of London. The Infidel Stain lacks the "ripping yarn" action that so much characterized The Strangler Vine. It may be that I am so much more familiar with the landscape of the London slums that I was with colonial India. The book is meticulously researched and features real people of the age as well as characters inspired by real historical figures. It is intensely readable historical fiction and I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Penguin Group for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
RATING- 4.5 Stars
I was largely unaware of the Chartist movement in England. The Chartists were a political movement which, to the modern mind, had very reasonable demands. They wanted one man, one vote, no property requirement to vote and redrawing of parliamentary districts. The poor in England were suffering tremendous burdens brought on by the Industrial Revolution and laws keeping wages artificially low. However, fifty years after the French Revolution, the reigning establishment saw the Chartists as a danger to the social order. The Chartists eventually failed even after delivering petitions signed by millions to the government. There were Chartists in favor of armed uprisings but more peaceful elements of the movement prevailed. Ironically, the movement seemed to fail in the end because they were so peaceful that the government felt that they could be ignored.
M.J. Carter paints a vivid, almost Dickensian picture of the horrible conditions in the slums of London. There was literally no escape for millions who had no way to improve their lives and a justice system focused on severe, moralistic punishments for the smallest transgressions. I can't help drawing parallels between the Victorian Age and our own "drug wars" as well as the slow dismantling of social programs meant to uplift people. William Avery is still a priggish young man but has his eyes opened wider in the slums of London. The Infidel Stain lacks the "ripping yarn" action that so much characterized The Strangler Vine. It may be that I am so much more familiar with the landscape of the London slums that I was with colonial India. The book is meticulously researched and features real people of the age as well as characters inspired by real historical figures. It is intensely readable historical fiction and I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Penguin Group for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
RATING- 4.5 Stars
December 14, 2017
I must admit that I was disappointed when I started this sequel to The Strangler Vines. One of the things that drew me to the first book of the series was the location - Colonial India. The Infidel Stain opens with Captain William Avery newly returned to Victorian England where he reunites with Jeremiah Blake in London. I've read a ton of period mysteries set in this location and around this same time period. I missed the freshness of a historical fiction mystery set elsewhere. Jem Blake is now a private enquiry agent and he's been tasked to discover the person or persons responsible for a series of ghastly murders. I saw the twist and resolution coming from a mile away. I had hoped that after their experiences together in India, Avery would be a little less whiny and that perhaps Blake would be a little more open with Avery giving him less cause to mope. Alas, that was not to be. I wanted to shake them both on several occasions. Additionally, the audiobook narrator, while still good, seemed to struggle to remember his voices for the two main characters, so their dialog often ran together. Whenever the text called for them to speak in low voices, the narrator whispered and the sound level dropped significantly, making passages impossible to hear while listening in my car. Those few annoyances aside, the book was still well written and engaging. There's a lot of heavy social commentary interwoven in this novel and I felt invested in the characters and the resolution. I will certainly be reading the next in the series, although I haven't decided if I want to purchase the audiobook version.
February 5, 2017
Blake and Avery are back in England now, both somewhat the worse for wear, and though I did enjoy this book, relocating the duo to London made me miss the rich variety of Indian history and culture in the first book. So many other mystery series take place in historical London, it's hard for any of them to stand out. I did like learning more about the Chartists and other social agitators, but the interaction between Blake and Avery is starting to wear thin on me.
July 31, 2015
Another mystery firmly grounded in complex historical events, this time the failed Chartist movement in London. Good to see Avery and Blake together again. I want more of their personal lives in the next book, especially Avery's wife and his country life. I'm hoping we're in Devon for the next novel.
April 18, 2020
I really missed the exotic setting of the first book. The descriptions were excellent, but I've read enough of Victorian London that it didn't interest me. Avery was very whiny and somewhat of a snowflake in this book, and Blake is much too mysterious all the time. Alex Wyndham does a fine job of narrating the audiobook, but I won't be continuing this series.
July 8, 2016
Review to come
February 4, 2018
Enjoyable and well plotted, but perhaps a little too obvious. For once I worked out who the murderer was before the big reveal. I loved all the historical detail, though. M. J. Carter's books are always thoroughly researched.
December 31, 2017
Grizzly murders done as religious icons and tied in with 19th-century radical English politics -- what more could one ask for?
Want to read
December 20, 2018When Alex Wyndham narrates, I listen.
March 16, 2017
I like a book where the time and place are a character unto themselves. This is such a book. Holmes and Jack the Ripper would be at home in Carter's Victorian London.
May 5, 2017
4.5.
>[List of food in this book]<
Okay, I think I need to reread chapters 19 & 20. Got a bit lost on who and for what reasons were doing the blackmail or being blackmailed lol. (UPDATED: Have finished rereading the entire book. Not lost anymore xP)
BTW, I honestly think Avery will eventually get a divorce...
Do feel free to read my status updates, I've made my distaste for Avery very loud and clear. Not sure if I can muster a more detailed review.
Anyways, it's been a while since my high school years (that's putting it mildly), but I think we did briefly touch upon Chartism... Which was why I was really confused with the reactions of the majority of the characters in the story. I feel like what they were asking was perfectly reasonable, but then again, perhaps in that era people were just too pigheaded to see it.
I think I now understand why certain things were perceived as bad. I think what happened to Matty actually sums it up, though I didn't realize it at first. People in certain circumstances are forced to do certain things. I cannot say all the victims were entirely innocent, but I want to believe that initially, they simply found a way to earn easy money. It was until later that they started the blackmailing activity that firmly put them into the "bad" category. I like this book so I very well will reread it again. Truth is, I'm still slightly unsure if all of the victims were involved with blackmail, or if the killer (see, I'm not spoiling anyone >:] ) killed them because of what they were printing (I actually didn't fully grasp it the first time round lmao. I thought it was a figurative speech, like "dirty business," I think it was till the Historical Afterword that I finally realized it was Gave me an epic shock lmao.)
Click the non-actual-spoiler tag to view why I need to reread.
>[List of food in this book]<
BTW, I honestly think Avery will eventually get a divorce...
Do feel free to read my status updates, I've made my distaste for Avery very loud and clear. Not sure if I can muster a more detailed review.
Anyways, it's been a while since my high school years (that's putting it mildly), but I think we did briefly touch upon Chartism... Which was why I was really confused with the reactions of the majority of the characters in the story. I feel like what they were asking was perfectly reasonable, but then again, perhaps in that era people were just too pigheaded to see it.
I think I now understand why certain things were perceived as bad. I think what happened to Matty actually sums it up, though I didn't realize it at first. People in certain circumstances are forced to do certain things. I cannot say all the victims were entirely innocent, but I want to believe that initially, they simply found a way to earn easy money. It was until later that they started the blackmailing activity that firmly put them into the "bad" category. I like this book so I very well will reread it again. Truth is, I'm still slightly unsure if all of the victims were involved with blackmail, or if the killer (see, I'm not spoiling anyone >:] ) killed them because of what they were printing (I actually didn't fully grasp it the first time round lmao. I thought it was a figurative speech, like "dirty business," I think it was till the Historical Afterword that I finally realized it was Gave me an epic shock lmao.)
Click the non-actual-spoiler tag to view why I need to reread.
January 21, 2016
Key characters...
Jeremiah Blake and William Avery...they were connected in the first book of this series...which I did not read. They are working together again in this book. They are investigators. They are kind of unique and kind of odd and seemingly devoid of normal humor but they are extremely passionate. Well...I think Blake might have a teeny tiny little bit of a sarcastic edge...maybe. And...Avery seems a bit more compassionate.
Settings...
This book and this series takes place in London...1841...but it's the London of back alleys, printing houses, shops, very dreary shops and very dreary impoverished people. There is disease and dirt and poverty...and hungry people and police looking the other way when certain people are murdered.
Simply put...what's going down...in this book...
Blake and Avery are working together to find out who is responsible for the gruesome murders of some printers...not ordinary printers...sort of unsavory printers...printers who are printing lewd and lascivious materials...printers who seem to have some sort of unsavory connection....which is infinitely funny compared to what we see and hear today.
What I thought about this book...
I thought that this book was really really good. The way that Blake and Avery worked together was fascinating. The crimes, the intensity of the crimes, the poverty of the
people involved and the amount of research this author did about that era...in order to provide the reader with a substantial idea of what life was like then...was amazing. I really enjoyed this book and I want to read the first one. It's fascinating how class structure played a role in whether people believed in your innocence or guilt.
Why you might want to read it, too...
Readers who love historical fiction and love books from this era...should really enjoy this book and this series. It's kind of gritty and raw but really good.
January 4, 2016
I enjoyed Carter's first Blake and Avery mystery, The Strangler Vine, with its exotic Indian setting, but I wondered how I would like this second book with both men back in London. I need not have worried. Carter is positively Dickensian in her description of the poor sections of the city; they came to life before my eyes. There was even a tiny scene in which Dickens appeared that made me smile. Those few words brought the man to life in a way that biographies never have.
In The Infidel Stain, we learn more of the background of the mysterious Jeremiah Blake, and once again it's proven how dissimilar the two men are. One way Carter does this is with my favorite character in the book (outside of the two heroes), young Matty Horner. Ever since her parents died, it's been the worst sort of fight for survival for Matty and her little brother. As her history unfolds, we see Avery's more conventional reaction to her, and then we see Blake's, who tells Matty at one point, "You kept your head above water when the world left you to drown."
Carter does an excellent job of placing her book right within the social and political events of the day, and as I read, I was reminded that London in 1841 is eerily similar to what's going on today. (The more things change, the more they remain the same.) She also provides glints of humor amidst all the seriousness, as when Blake's assertion that "No reading is ever wasted" is proven beyond doubt.
As good as the story is in this book, I found it to have the same problem as her first book: pacing that sometimes slows to a crawl before it picks up again. Perhaps some of the wonderful period detail could be edited in order to tighten the narrative? Be that as it may, I enjoy immersing myself in M.J. Carter's Blake and Avery books, and I look forward to the third.
In The Infidel Stain, we learn more of the background of the mysterious Jeremiah Blake, and once again it's proven how dissimilar the two men are. One way Carter does this is with my favorite character in the book (outside of the two heroes), young Matty Horner. Ever since her parents died, it's been the worst sort of fight for survival for Matty and her little brother. As her history unfolds, we see Avery's more conventional reaction to her, and then we see Blake's, who tells Matty at one point, "You kept your head above water when the world left you to drown."
Carter does an excellent job of placing her book right within the social and political events of the day, and as I read, I was reminded that London in 1841 is eerily similar to what's going on today. (The more things change, the more they remain the same.) She also provides glints of humor amidst all the seriousness, as when Blake's assertion that "No reading is ever wasted" is proven beyond doubt.
As good as the story is in this book, I found it to have the same problem as her first book: pacing that sometimes slows to a crawl before it picks up again. Perhaps some of the wonderful period detail could be edited in order to tighten the narrative? Be that as it may, I enjoy immersing myself in M.J. Carter's Blake and Avery books, and I look forward to the third.
April 21, 2015
The immediate reaction on starting this is that it is a very atmospheric Victorian crime drama (and there one or two gruesome scenes in it). The writing, which seems very well researched indeed in terms of details, creates a vivid portrait of London of that time. There has obviously been a previous book featuring Avery and Blake, the main characters in this, which sounds Intriguing previous book but I had not read and this book can easily be read as a standalone story. The characters of Avery and Blake I really liked a lot, contrasting and complimentary, they worked well for me here and I would like to read the previous book sometime. The other characters in the book are mostly very well drawn out and I loved the worked put in to the London of the time.
There is a nod to a Holmes and Watson type story here which I liked however, for me, the pace was a little lacking at times. As I've said the descriptive writing is excellent however I did feel that made the story a little slow at times. A good book for any lover of atmospheric Victorian crime tales although it did not quite work for me because of the pace.
Disclosure - I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.
There is a nod to a Holmes and Watson type story here which I liked however, for me, the pace was a little lacking at times. As I've said the descriptive writing is excellent however I did feel that made the story a little slow at times. A good book for any lover of atmospheric Victorian crime tales although it did not quite work for me because of the pace.
Disclosure - I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.
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